Dear Parishioners of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church,
In February of 1920, a 28-year-old priest named Father Odilo Alt told the Abbot at St. Joseph that there ought to be a lot of Catholics living north of the Abbey in a small town called Folsom. The Abbot told Father Odilo to go see, and he did find Catholics throughout the woods of Folsom, causing him to form a small mission. In June of 1921 Fr. Odilo’s “Church” was recognized as a parish by the Archdiocese of New Orleans under the patronage of St. John the Baptist.
In June 2021 we will recognize our 100th Anniversary with an incredibly special event. It is with great pleasure that I invite you and your family to join us on Sunday, June 13th at 11:00 a.m. to celebrate this 100th anniversary of our parish. We are privileged to have Archbishop Gregory Aymond preside over the 11:00 a.m. Mass celebration, which will be in church. There will be a regular Vigil Mass the evening before, but no other Mass on the 13th except for the one at 11:00 a.m. Because of the large crowd expected at this event we will open the church for the formal Mass on a first-come-first-served basis and will have Jonathan Hall open with live streaming of the Mass for the overflow from church. There will be 3 monitors placed in Jonathan Hall for easy viewing.
Those parishioners participating in the Mass from Jonathan Hall will be served the Eucharist consecrated by the Archbishop without having to move. We feel certain that with the utilization of both buildings we will be able to accommodate all who wish to attend.
Once mass has concluded we will move the event to our outside grounds. Large tents will be erected with both tables and chairs available for parishioners to enjoy the afternoon celebration. We will have picnic tables scattered under the large oaks for those who wish to nestle under the trees. We invite you to bring your own lawn chair so that you can set up wherever you wish to enjoy the afternoon. Jambalaya, beans and a salad will be served along with soft drinks. Live music will be played while you enjoy your food. We will have two large cakes and snowballs available for everyone to enjoy. We are hoping for a large crowd to attend this FREE event.
Please mark your calendars so that you do not miss out on this especially important and exciting celebration. If you have any questions, you can reach out to either Joy Guidry in the office or David Cooper, our Centennial Committee Chairman, at 985-302-6690. I thank you and look forward to sharing this incredibly special event with all my parishioners.
God’s blessings to all of you,
Father Vincent Phan
(Mass will be live on the parish FaceBook page.)
Watch Mass Live on Facebook